Saturday, August 12, 2017

HERE Artist Residency Program

HARP is designed to support collaboration across disparate art forms by nurturing hybrid artists in the development of dynamic live performances. HARP provides significant long-term artistic, financial, and administrative support, tailored to each artist's individual needs.

“In these times, it's become increasingly hard for artists to find a place to take risks, a safe haven where they can develop daring new work. One theater has regularly bucked the trend, making its mission to ensure that artists have a home for their R&D, and that theatergoers can sample the exciting results.” - OBIE Committee, on the Ross Wetzsteon Award to HERE

About HERE:

Since 1993, HERE has been one of New York’s most prolific producing organizations and today stands at the forefront of the city’s presenters of daring new work. A collaborative multi-arts space with two theatres and a gallery/lounge, HERE developed such acclaimed works as Eve Ensler’s THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, puppeteer Basil Twist’s SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE, Trey Lyford and Geoff Soebelle’s ALL WEAR BOWLERS, and Taylor Mac’s THE LILY’S REVENGE. For over 15 years, HERE has invested in long-term developmental relationships with individual artists and artist collaborations. HERE builds a community that nurtures career artists as they create innovative hybrid live performance in theatre, dance, music, puppetry, media and visual art. Our artist residencies support the singular vision of the lead artist through commissions, long-term development, and production support. HERE’s programs and performances promote relationships among local, national, and international artists. Our space is a destination for audiences who are passionate about groundbreaking contemporary work and the creative process behind it.

'One of the most unusual arts spaces in New York---and possibly the model for the cutting edge arts space of tomorrow, ' (The New York Times); "the Downtown Lincoln Center" (Paper Magazine) "...HERE still manages to be the forum for fresh talents." - Ben Brantley of The New York Times

About HARP:

HARP nurtures the development of mid-career hybrid artists and their audiences, through cross-disciplinary exchange, peer-driven workshops, and panel discussions. HARP was conceived in 1999 to address an urgent need in the artistic community: a void of artistic and administrative support for mid-career artists. This lack of support was causing talented artists, in the most fertile periods of their careers, to leave the field. HARP was initiated to provide a much-needed forum to assist artists who are developing unique artistic voices and experimenting with new approaches to expanding the parameters of performance work.

As the works being developed are complex hybrid projects, each Residency will last for 2 to 3 years, renewed annually. At the end of each residency year, the artist and HERE mutually decide whether to continue the residency. It is unlikely that any project accepted in 2018 will go to production before 2020.

HARP RESIDENCY EXPECTATIONS:

Artists or collaborative teams chosen for HARP are expected to participate in the program by developing the work as outlined in their application and by actively participating in the member and public activities associated with the program. Since HARP is designed to respond to the ideas and needs of its members, the members themselves must be proactive in bringing those ideas and needs to HARP and to each other. We expect our members to be both good citizens of the HERE community as well as ambassadors to the public.

During the residency, HARP Artists participate in monthly artistic meetings, bi-monthly work groups focused on both artistic and business topics, regular individual meetings on budgeting, production, and fundraising issues, and formal and informal work-in-progress showings.

At the monthly meetings, artists show work, give feedback to other artist projects, engage in and contribute to artistic skill sharing. At the bi-monthly work groups, artists share career skills and learn from others, as well as from HERE staff and outside experts on topics ranging from grant writing to touring to budgeting to work samples.

Artists are also encouraged to show work in each stage of development. A number of work-in-progress showings, both public and private, allow members of HARP to contribute to the growth of their peers. Through this component, we create a balance of practical and theoretical work that exposes the whole group to a comprehensive experience. Each season, we present 8-10 public showings of HARP works-in-progress and provide HARP artists with a more formal opportunity to present stages of their work in CULTUREMART, our annual winter festival of workshop productions, before a public paying audience.

Each year, HARP artists participate in a one-week retreat at an artist colony where they are able to dedicate all of their energy to the creative process without the distractions of daily life. At times, when possible, we offer one- and two-week project-specific intensive retreats for second- and third-year HARP artists.

Three to five projects that are in development are selected for production each year. Each selected artist participates in all development activities, and collaborates with HERE to raise funds and develop appropriate resources and support for their production. Projects are produced at the scale appropriate to the work – there is no set formula for producing in the season – chamber or mainstage, four performances or 20, one performer or 25. It is our expectation that the works being developed in the program are being scaled to fit and will be produced in one of our spaces. Most works developed through HARP are fully produced by HERE.

The artists themselves shall retain ownership of all work initiated, developed, or workshopped during their residency. For the works that go to full production, HERE and the artists will negotiate a separate ownership and rights agreement. However, in all public materials about the artist or team the following must appear: "(Name of Artist or Team) was/is a member of HERE’s Artist Residency Program (HARP), 20 __ - 20__, NYC", and in all public materials relating to the work’s development, the following line shall appear: “Development of (Name of Work) was made possible through the HERE’s Artist Residency Program (HARP), 20_ - 20_, NYC." For works that go to full production the following line shall appear: “(Name of Work) was commissioned, developed, and produced through the HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP), 20_ - 20_, NYC.”

RESOURCES FOR HARP ARTISTS:

Artistic Development:

While in residence, the artist or team’s residency is linked to a specific project in development and an exploration of ideas and processes intrinsic to their artistic growth. HERE believes that artists must be in control of the work that they create. This control goes hand in hand with a responsibility to participate in all phases of their artistic projects from inception through all development stages to full production. HARP is designed to respond to the ideas and needs of its artists. The artists themselves must be proactive in bringing those ideas and needs to HARP and to each other; they shape workshop and discussion offerings, create performances, and work with HERE staff to publicize and promote HARP events.

Career Development:HARP also includes hands-on administrative sessions to supplement our already strong artistic development process. We believe that in order for these artists to stay in the field, they must have the necessary skills to function as viable creative enterprises. HARP offers advice on business issues such as grant writing, project planning, budgeting, marketing, and nonprofit incorporation. Administrative sessions are led either by a HARP artist with the necessary skill, an appropriate HERE staff member, or an outside expert.

HARP artists also have access to an online resource managed by HERE that fosters these skills and asks the artists to participate in an online community discussion by posting work and responding to others’ work between meetings and presentations. Most important, frequent meetings provide community and address the needs of the whole artist. In addition, each member of the HERE staff dedicates significant one-on-one time with each artist to articulate the vision for the project in terms of producing strategy, audience development, marketing, fundraising, finance and production.

Facilities and Equipment:HARP Artists have access to the HERE staff, including development, marketing, and general management team, and access to sample contracts, grants, and budget templates. Due to the lack of on-site rehearsal space and the heavy use of our theatre spaces, HARP is not primarily a space residency. However, HERE offers resident artists limited rehearsal space and equipment on an as-needed, as-available basis in our theatres. The Mainstage Theatre is a flexible black box theatre with a sprung wood floor which measures 46' x 46'. It can seat up to 150 (depending on the configuration of the seating platforms), and usually seats 99. The theatre has a complete lighting package including 92 dimmers and a complete sound system. The Dorothy B. Williams Theatre is a charming proscenium-style theatre with a 14' x 38' stage. The theatre also has the capability to transform into a flexible black box space. It has a fixed grid, a state-of-the-art lighting package including 75 dimmers and a complete sound system. The theatre has 63 seats and 8 stools. HERE has an extensive inventory of high quality equipment available for our artists’ use. HERE also actively develops partnerships with other organizations and landlords to offer dedicated rehearsal space to our resident artists.

Funding:In addition to the extensive range of community, development, and production resources listed above, HERE offers each resident artist a developmental commission, work-in-progress (WIP) and workshop fees in order to develop their project. The developmental commission, paid out in monthly installments, is up to $5,400 total for a 3-year residency. HERE also provides each artist with an annual WIP fund of $1,000, as well as a fee of $2,000 for each workshop in our annual CULTUREMART festival. All of these funds may be used as each artist deems fit for their individual project. In addition, there are fees for creators and their collaborators in the budget for the final production. The budget is developed jointly by HERE and the artist. HERE allocates at least $30,000 towards the final production in addition to partnering with the artist to raise project-specific funding. Over a 3-year residency, HERE invests over $45,000 in cash in each project.

SELECTION CRITERIA: HARP is designed to assist mid-career individual artists or collaborative teams (writers, performers, composers, directors, designers, dramaturgs, puppeteers, dancers, singers) working in a hybrid form in live performance. Hybrid form refers to the full integration (not just as backdrop) of two or more genres (theatre, dance, music, puppetry, media, and visual art) in the work.

We define a mid-career artist as one who has:

(1) completed their education within the last 8-15 years

(2) had at least a few significant residency or commissioning opportunities,

(3) created a body of work over at least 5 years and at least one full evening-length work, and

(4) earns some income from their art practice.

Artists must also meet the following criteria:

*The artist or team are residents of the NY metro area.

*The artist or team find themselves at a point in their career where they are developing a distinctive form/style/content of work, or are interested in stretching the previously accepted boundaries of their work by experimentation with form/style/content.

*The artist or team is interested in actively participating both in the community of HERE and in a peer-based program aimed at exchanging resources, ideas, critique, and support.

*The artist or team are proposing a project that is very early in its development process, meaning at its inception and has not been previously workshopped, and any underlying rights for pre-existing material for the project have already been secured.

Additionally, HERE believes that diversity is extremely important within the makeup of our residency program. HARP actively seeks this diversity both from the work itself in terms of genre and content, and in the background of the artists.

The selection panel includes HERE leadership, artists, and performing arts curators from NYC.

The residence year extends annually from April 1 to March 31, with the exception of when a project is heading into final production.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR HARP RESIDENCY:

Name/Address:

Please provide full name and address of applicant. Only residents of the New York Metro area will be considered.

Project Summary:

Please provide a summary of your project.

Project Description:

What do you envision on stage and what will the audience experience be? Why does your project need the time our residency offers? Because of the long-term development process that we offer, we look for proposals that are in the very early stages of their growth - the seeds of an idea or an outline. A project that has already been workshopped is probably too far along to benefit from what the program offers. Please feel free to use bullet points if space demands are too limiting.

Artist Statement:

Please briefly tell the panel about your interest in this project, why this residency is a good fit for you right now, how you see yourself as a mid-career artist, and how you hope to develop over your residency. If more than one primary artist is included in this application, each primary artist should provide a statement in the space provided. If an ensemble is applying, one shared statement is appropriate.

Project Timeline:

This should be a 2-3 year timeline of how you will develop the work during the residency, indicating potential works in progress. This obviously will change and adapt over time, but it is helpful for the panel to see how you might use the flexible opportunities offered by the residency.

Short narrative bio and/or resume of the lead artist(s):

Please provide a resume or narrative bio.

Collaborators:

Please list other collaborators on the project. If you don’t know your collaborators yet, please indicate what kind of collaborators you may intend to bring into the project.

Work Sample & description:

Please pay close attention to work sample instructions listed below on the form and then tell us why this work sample is relevant to the proposed project. Please include year, performers, and contributing artists.

SUBMISSION REVIEW PROCESS:

After applications are reviewed by the panel, finalists will be interviewed by Kristin Marting, Artistic Director and Kim Whitener, Producing Director. Application DEADLINE: February 2, 2018 at 12 noon. Final decisions will be announced by March 16, 2018. Questions can be addressed to programming@here.org or 212-647-0202 x320.

DISCLAIMER

NYCPlaywrights makes every effort to confirm the validity of the calls for submissions posted on this site, as well as confirming that the opportunity meets our criteria of: a. open to New Yorkers and b. does not charge a submission fee. (Please note that we do run paid advertisements although not often, for opportunities not available to New Yorkers.) However, no guarantees are made by NYCPlaywrights as to the postings listed on this site and submitters are advised to use their own discretion when submitting work. If you discover anything wrong with any of the calls for submissions we post here (including if a submission fee is charged - and we missed it somehow) please let us know at info@nycplaywrights.org.Thanks!

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